FIVE boys who left a trail of destruction at an allotment site have been ordered to spend 18 hours working on the plots.
Police received 22 crime reports over two nights after the boys broke into sheds and damaged plots at the Clough and Oak Road allotments.
The boys, aged 12, 13, 15 and two 16 year-olds, will now each spend 18 hours working at the allotments to assist plot holders in turning over the mud and planting.
Police came up with the punishment after the allotment holders agreed the boys should be dealt with through a "community resolution".
John Kline, secretary of the Clough and Oak Road Allotments Association, said: "We are used to having break-ins, but this was just mindless damage.
"They pulled plants up, stamped on them, broke the sheds, scattered things about and slashed polytunnels. It was just destruction.
"The police managed to catch them, but they said they wouldn't have enough evidence to get a conviction in court. They suggested this way of paying back instead.
"Not everybody was happy about it at first, but we hope it will show them how people on here struggle to do what they are doing.
"When things like this happen, it's demoralising. People quickly get it sorted out, because there is a real sense of community here.
"Hopefully, when they come here, they will see that and take away something from it and that it will have an effect on them, so they don't do anything like it again."
In the wake of the break-ins last month, police visited plot holders to advise them how to avoid becoming victims of crime. They also gave out shed alarms.
Inspector Steve Lamb, who heads up neighbourhood policing in north Hull, said: "This is a fantastic example of putting the victim at the heart of decision-making.
"The allotment community didn't want to criminalise the boys for their two nights of madness, but did want them to make amends.
"The boys have 18 hours of hard graft ahead of them as part of the community resolution.
"Undertaking this will hopefully act as a reminder to the boys and prevent further re-offending."
